Document-stacking device for photocopying machines

ABSTRACT

In a photocopy machine, an integrated stacking chute is positioned within the confines of the machine frame to receive and stack sheets successively exiting from a machine feed path. The chute entrance is vertically oriented, while the chute terminal portion is defined by a pair of closely spaced, horizontal members. A backstop slidingly received between the horizontal members is adjustably positioned such that when the leading edges of the sheets abut the backstop, the trailing edges thereof are conveniently accessible at the chute entrance.

United States Patent inventors Phillip Pollak, Jr.

Westport; Douglas l. Morrison, Norwalk; William A. Ross, Darien, all of Conn. App]. No. 884,945 Filed Dec. 15, 1969 Patented Nov. 9, 1971 Assignee Pitney-Bowes, Inc.

Stamford, Conn.

DOCUMENT-STACKING DEVICE son PHOTOCOPYING MACHINES 11 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 271/86 Int. Cl B65h 31/20 Field oiSearch 271/86, 64, 63

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 323,295 7/1885 Burton 271/86 X 2,124,858 7/1938 Marchand 271/64 UX 2,433,530 12/1947 Prattet al. 271/86 3,154,356 10/1964 Lewisetal 27l/86X Primary Examiner-Joseph Wegbreit Attorneys-William D. Soltow, Jr., Albert W. Scribner and Martin D. Wittstein ABSTRACT: In a photocopy machine, an integrated stacking chute is positioned within the confines of the machine frame to receive and stack sheets successively exiting from a machine feed path. The chute entrance is vertically oriented, while the chute terminal portion is defined by a pair of closely spaced, horizontal members. A backstop slidingly received between the horizontal members is adjustably positioned such that when the leading edges of the sheets abut the backstop, the trailing edges thereof are conveniently accessible at the chute entrance.

PATENTEDuuv 9 IHH sum 1 OF 3 f zlznllllllrllrfilll r/l/l/l/l/l/l/ldl/ll/l/l/l/l/ INVENTORS PHILLIP POLLAK JR. DOUGLAS l. MORRISON WILLIAM A. ROSS luapzw' 12 ATTORNEY PATENTEDuuv 9 WI SHEET 2 BF 3 M/VENTORS mmun DOLLAK JR. DOUGLAS n. monmson WILLIAM A. ROSS Mcui 0 n u n u ATTORNEY PAIENTEDunv 919?: 3,618,938

sum 3 OF 3 F I G. 4

irt; Jallidddrif ridirvlrllrr o 2 r 8 I 8 '11 MMM M I M INVENTOQS I DOLLAK an. DOUGLAS I. MOQFUSON WILLIAM A. ROSS ev 111% p ATTORNEY DHILLID FIG. 5

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the majority of desk top photocopiers presently being manufactured, the document to be copied is fed into the machine and is translated through a predetermined feed path. As the document passes through an illuminating zone, light is reflected from the indicia side of the document and projected onto the surface of a copy sheet. In electrostatic copiers, the projected light image of the document indicia serves to produce a corresponding latent electrostatic image which is then developed and fixed on the surface of the copy sheet. The document is translated from the illuminating zone to the exit of its feed path and typically is deposited in a bin or chute carried by the machine housing.

Prior art bins or chutes typically extend, from a suitable portion of the machine frame adjacent an exit slot or opening from a document feed path, away from the frame so that documents will be smoothly and evenly deposited therein. These bins cause the photocopier assembly as a whole to occupy more space than the photocopier per se ordinarily requires; they are often unsightly and upon occasion can be the cause of minor injury to an operator of the photocopier.

In addition, photocopiers of this type originally accommodated only document sheets of a particular size. This permitted the document-stacking bin or chute to be designed for a particular size of document sheet. That is, the chute could be designed to accept successive document sheets and stack them in a convenient accessible position in the chute for ultimate manual removal, en masse.

Through improved design typical photocopiers of this type are presently equipped to handle document sheets of many sizes. This creates problems as far as the document-stacking chute is concerned. If the document sheets are small they can'- not be conveniently manually retrieved from the stacking chute, particularly when the chute is vertically oriented. On the other hand, if the document sheets are oversized, their trailing edges extend out from and beyond the chute entrance, hanging over the side of the chute, or the trailing edges may remain caught in the sheet feed path exit slot. This condition is unsightly and may interfere with proper reception of subsequent documents from the feed path exit. Moreover, the documents may be creased, wrinkled or otherwise damaged.

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet-stacking chute ideally suited for integration into and within the confines of the home of a photocopy machine, and which will easily and efficiently accommodate documents of varying length. The chute is designed to take up very little space and can be incorporated into a photocopy machine without appreciably increasing the overall dimensions of the machine.

More specifically, the invention provides a sheet-stacking :hute situated adjacent the exit of asheet feed path through the photocopier and extending at least partially within the machine to receive and stack sheets successively exiting therefrom. According to an important feature of the invention, the chute is provided with an adjustably positioned bottom or backstop so as to compensate for different sizes of sheets.

The entrance portion of thechute is vertically oriented beneath the sheet feed path exit in intercepting relation with the leading edge of the sheets exiting therefrom. The terminal portion of the chute extends generally horizontally inward into the interior of the copier so as to conserve space and not require significant increases in the overall dimensions of the copier. The chute terminal portion is defined, in part, by a pair of closely spaced parallel plates which serve as guides for an adjustably positionable backstop or chute bottom member.

The backstop is slideably moved between the plates to adjustably establish the effective length of the chute for sheets of LII varying lengths (or widths when the sheets are deposited and stacked on their side edges). The established position of the backstop is preferably such that, when the leading edges of the sheets abut the backstop, their trailing edges are substantially aligned with the entrance of the chute, thus to facilitate grasping by an operator pursuant to en masse removal of a plurality of sheets.

An operating arm is mechanically linked to the backstop and manipulated by the machine operator to adjust the position of the backstop. Suitable indicia may be provided for indicating the appropriate arm position, for the size sheets to be deposited and stacked in the chute.

Having generally described the invention, it is a primary object thereof to provide a new and improved sheet-stacking chute particularly adapted for integration into and within photocopier machines.

An additional object is to provide a sheet-stacking chute of the above character which is capable of accepting and holding a plurality of sheets in a manner so as to be readily accessible for convenient retrieval by an operator.

A further object is toprovide a sheet-stacking chute of the above character which is adjustable for various sizes of sheets.

Still another object is to provide a sheet-stacking chute of the above character which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple in design, and convenient to implement.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafier set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified, side elevational view of an electrostatic copier adapted with a sheet-stacking chute constructed according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, side elevational view partially broken away, of the sheet-stacking chute of FIG. I adjusted for short sheets;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, side elevational view, partially broken away, of the sheet-stacking chute of FIG. I adjusted for long sheets;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, partially broken away, taken along line 5--5 ofFIG. 2.

Similar reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The sheet-stacking chute constructed according to an embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at 10 in FIG. 1 and is shown integrated into an electrostatic photocopier of the direct imaging type. As seen in FIG. I, an original document to be copied is inserted face up in a slot I2. The document is fed between feed rollers 14 and 15, curved guide plates 16, feed rollers 17 and 15, and through an illuminating station, generally indicated at 18. A light source 22 scans the indicia borne by the document as it passes through the illuminating station 18, and the reflected image thereof is directed by mirror 24 and a lens system 26 to an exposure station, generally indicated 28.

Copy paper having a suitable photoconductive coating, such as Electrofax paper having a zinc oxide coating on one side, is drawn from a supply roll 30 by feed rollers 32. The copy paper iscut into sheet length corresponding to the sheet length of the original document by a cutter mechanism, generally indicated at 34. The cut copy paper sheet is then conveyed by feed rollers 36 to a corona discharge unit 38,

operating to place a uniform electrostatic charge on the photoconductive coating of the copy sheet. From the corona discharge unit 38, the copy sheet is conveyed by feed rollers 40 so as to pass through the exposure station 28 while the original document is passing through the illuminating station 18.

In accordance with well-known electrostatic copying techniques, the image to be copied is projected on the photoconductive layer in contacting engagement with a conductive substrate of the copy paper sheet. The conductive substrate is effective to selectively discharge the uniform electrostatic charge on the photoconductive coating in correspondence with the image light intensity projected by the lens system 26. Thus an image of the indicia borne by the original document is transformed into a corresponding latent electrostatic image on the zinc oxide layer of the copy paper sheet. The sheet is then fed by feed rollers 42 through a development station, generally indicated at 44, where the latent electrostatic image is developed using a suitable toner. From the development station 44, feed rollers 46 convey the sheet to a drying station, generally indicated at 48, where the developed image is fixed. Feed rollers 50 and 52 convey the copy sheet to a compartment 54, where successive copies are accumulated for ultimate removal by the operator.

While the copy sheet is being developed, the document sheet is conveyed from the illuminating station 18 between feed rollers 19 and 20. A gate 21 is selectively positioned to either direct the document sheet around roller 20 and into the nip of feed rollers 20 and 23, if multiple copies of a short document are to be made, or to the nip of feed rollers 25 and 27. A second gate 29 is selectively positioned to either route the document around roller 27 and thereafter into the nip of feed rollers 23 and 20 if multiple copies of an elongated document are to be made, or out the exit of the document feed path, generally indicated at 31.

The purpose of the dual multiple copy feed path for document sheets of different lengths is to conserve time. That is, for short documents gate 21 is positioned so that the document takes the shorter feed path around roller 20 to return to the illuminating station 18. However, for longer documents the feed path around roller 20 would produce a situation where the leading and trailing edges of the document would overlap, thus rendering gate 21 ineffective. Consequently, when longer documents are to be multiply reproduced, they are routed through the longer feed path by gate 29.

The foregoing description of the disclosed photocopier machine and its various working components is intended to set forth the environment in which the sheet-stacking chute 110 of the invention is adapted, and therefore should not be interpreted in a limiting sense. While the sheet-stacking chute is shown in FIG. 1 adapted to accept and stack original document sheets exiting from the document sheet path, it will be appreciated that the invention could be adapted by those skilled in the art to accept and stack either or both the document sheets as they exit from their respective feed paths.

As best seen in FIG. I, the sheet-stacking chute 10 is comprised of a vertically oriented entrance portion 59 disposed beneath the feed path exit 31 and defined by a laterally elongated inner guide plate 60 and a pair of laterally spaced outer guide plates 62. The terminal portion of the sheet-stacking chute 10 is in part by upper and lower horizontal guide plates 64 and 66. It is thus seen that the chute 10 has a generally vertically oriented entrance portion and a generally horizontally oriented terminal portion; the latter portion extending inwardly into the photocopier just above the compartment 54 where the copy sheets are accumulated. In this manner, stacking chute I0 is incorporated into and within the overall confines of the photocopy machine so as to take up very little space and to avoid significantly increasing the outside dimensions ofthe photocopier.

As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper and lower guide plates 64 and 66 are secured along their lateral edges to upright side frame members 68. As seen in FIGS. 1 through 3,

the forward end portion of lower guide plate 66 is extended into closely spaced overlying relation with a stationary shelf member 70 with the lower horizontally extending end portion of outer guide plates 62 disposed in the space therebetween.

In order to facilitate retrieval of one or more document sheets from the sheet-stacking chute 110, the open area, as indicated at 63 in FIG. 4, accommodates the hand of the operator in grasping the trailing edges of the documents between the laterally spaced outer guide plates 62. Preferably, the forward edge of lower guide plate 66 is also cut out as indicated at 65 in FIG. 4 to facilitate removal of copies from compartment 54.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, a pair of insert guide plates 72, one disposed on each side of the open area 63, are incorporated in the entrance portion of stacking chute 10 to provide a smooth transition for the leading edge of the firstdeposited document sheet from the vertical entrance portion to the horizontal terminal portion of the stacking chute. To retain the inserts 72 in place, the leading edge of the lower guide plate 66 is formed having a series of notches 73 on each side of cutout 65. The inserts are formed having a series of teeth 74 with crooked end portions 75. The teeth of the inserts '72 are received in the notches 73 with the crooked end portions 75 extending through and locked in apertures fonned in the lower end portion of front guide plate 62. As a consequence, the inserts 72 are locked between the support member 70 and the lower end portion of the front guide plate 62.

The actual termination or bottom of stacking chute 10 is in the form of a backstop, generally indicated at 78 in the drawings. As best seen in FIGS. 45 and 5, the backstop 78 consists of an elongated bar 80 extending transversely between upper and lower guide plates 64 and 66. On bar 80, there is formed upper and lower longitudinal reinforcing ribs 82 and a series of intersecting upper and lower lateral guide ribs 84. One end of the arm 80 is integrally connected to a sleeve 86 which is slideably mounted on a horizontal rod 88. The ends of rod 88 are carried in brackets 90 secured to one of the side frames 68.

To support the other end of arm 80 from sleeve 86, a pin 92 is mounted therein. The pin is formed having a bearing head 93 which rides on the upper surface of lower guide plate 66. The spherical tip 94 of pin 92 terminates just short of the upper guide plate 64, thus to maintain the arm 80 properly spaced between upper and lower guide plates 64 and 66. As will be seen, the sleeve 86 slides back and forth on rod 88 to adjustably position the arm 80 according to the length of the document sheets being deposited in the stacking chute 10. To prevent the leading edges of document sheets in the stacking chute M) from slipping past the backstop 78, the lower transverse ribs 84 project into longitudinally extending slots 96 formed in lower guide plate 66 and the upper transverse ribs 34 cooperate with longitudinally extending ribs 98 integrally formed into upper guide plate 64.

To adjustably position the backstop 78, there is provided an actuating mechanism, generally indicated at 100 in FIGS. 2 and 3. An actuator arm 102 is formed having vertically aligned tabs I03 accommodating pins 104 which extend through a vertical slot 105 formed in a plate 106 secured to one side frame 68. The inner ends of the pins 104 are peened over or otherwise locked in slot B05 so that actuator arm I02 is limited to vertical movement. The upper pin 104 also passes through an elongated slot 108 formed in the forward end of a lever arm 110. The rearward end of the lever arm is mounted by a pivot pin 1 12 secured to side frame 68. It is thus seen that when the actuator arm B02 is moved up and down in slot 105, the lever arm 110 is pivoted about pivot pin 112.

A crank M4 is formed having an upper short leg I15 and a lower long leg 116. The crank is pivotally mounted to the side frame 68 on a pivot pin 118 located at the junction of legs and 116. An elongated slot 120 in the end ofleg 115 receives a pin 122 connecting the crank 114 to the lever arm 110. The lower end ofcrank leg I16 carries a stud 124 which is received in a vertical channel I26 formed in sleeve 86 of backstop 78.

The lost motion connections of pins 104 in slot 105, pin 122 in slot 120 and stud 124 in channel 126 accommodate the relative movements of the various elements of the actuating mechanism 100 without binding.

When the document sheets are of relatively short length, the actuator arm 102 is moved to its upper position, positioning the backstop 78 in the position shown in FIG. 2. The backstop 78 is thus in a forward position such that when the leading edge of a document 130 abuts the backstop, its trailing edge lies in the vicinity of the upper edge of outer guide plate 62. Thus, one or more short documents deposited in stacking chute are readily retrieved by an operator, simply by grasping their trailing edges fully exposed at the open area 63.

On the other hand, for elongated documents, the actuator arm 102 is moved to a lower position, such as shown in FIG. 3. It is seen that despite the length of an elongated document 132, when the leading edge thereof abuts the backstop in a rearward position, the trailing edge is nevertheless readily accessible at the entrance of the stacking chute 10 adjacent to the upper edge of outer guide plate 62.

it will be appreciated that the actuator arm 102 may be moved to any position between the extremes shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 so as to correspondingly position the backstop 78 for documents of intermediate length.

' If it is found that the actuating mechanism 100 tends to creep during operation of the photocopier, it is desirable to put a drag on the mechanism. To this end, pivot pin- 112, for example, may accommodate a pair of bushings 134 and an intervening compression spring at 136, as seen 'in FIG. 5. The spring serves to press one of the bushings against side frame 68 and the other against lever arm 110 to provide a degree of resistance to the pivoting of lever 114.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a photocopy machine, sheet-stacking apparatus comprising, in combination:

A. first guide means mounted on the photocopier and defining an entrance portion of a stacking chute for sheets successively exiting from a sheet feed path through the photocopy machine;

B. second guide means mounted on the photocopier and defining a terminal portion of said stacking chute extending inwardly into the photocopier, said terminal portion of said stacking chute communicating with said entrance portion thereof;

C. an elongated backstop physically associated with said second guide means and defining the termination of said stacking chute; and

D. means for adjusting the position of said backstop relative to said second guide means such that when the leading edges of sheets deposited in said stacking chute abut said backstop, the trailing edges thereof are accessible adjacent said entrance portion of said stacking chute to the manual grasp of a machine operator.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein:

1. said first guide means includes spaced inner and outer vertical members,

2. said second guide means includes spaced upper and lower horizontal members, and

3. said backstop includes an elongated arm extending transversely between said first and second horizontal membets.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:

1. said arm is provided with spaced depending ribs, and

2. said lower member is provided with longitudinally extending means coacting with said ribs thereby preventing the leading edges of sheets in said stacking chute from extending beyond said arm. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:

. said arm is provided with spaced, upper and lower vertically extending ribs, 2. said lower member is provided with spaced longitudinally extending slots adapted to receive said lower ribs on said arm, and 3. said upper member is provided with longitudinally extending ribs positioned in close proximity to said upper ribs on said arm, 4. whereby said lower ribs coact with said longitudinal slots and said upper ribs coact with said longitudinal ribs thereby preventing the leading edges of sheets in said stacking chutes from extending beyond said arm. 5. The apparatus defined in claim 4, wherein: l. said backstop further includes a sleeve secured to one end of said arm, and 2. said adjusting means includes a horizontal rod mounting said sleeve for sliding movement thereon pursuant to the longitudinal positioning of said backstop. 6. The apparatus defined in claim 5, wherein: l. said backstop further includes a pin mounted in the other end of said am, said pin including a. a head bearing on the upper surface of said lower member to assist. said sleeve in supporting said arm, and

b. a tip terminating adjacent the lower surface of said upper member to maintain proper spacing of said arm between said upper and lower members.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 5, wherein said adjusting means further includes:

1. a crank pivotally mounted intermediate its ends with one end linked to said sleeve,

2. a lever arm pivotally mounted at one end and linked at a point intermediate its ends to the other end of said crank,

3. an actuator arm linked to the other end of said lever arm,

and

4. an elongated keyway mounting said actuator arm for reciprocating movement therein pursuant to adjusting the longitudinal position of said backstop.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein said adjusting means further includes:

1. means physically associated with at least one of said crank, lever arm and actuator for introducing frictional resistance to the operation of said adjusting means.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein said first guide means further includes:

1. at least one insert plate positioned adjacent said outer member and said lower member to provide transition between said entrance and terminal portions of said stacking chute.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:

l. the upper edge of said outer member is cut out to accommodate the hand of the machine operator in grasping the sheets in said stacking chute.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first guide means includes spaced inner and outer vertical members and means for providing access to sheets between said inner and outer vertical members. 

1. In a photocopy machine, sheet-stacking apparatus comprising, in combination: A. first guide means mounted on the photocopier and defining an entrance portion of a stacking chute for sheets successively exiting from a sheet feed path through the photocopy machine; B. second guide means mounted on the photocopier and defining a terminal portion of said stacking chute extending inwardly into the photocopier, said terminal portion of said stacking chute communicating with said entrance portion thereof; C. an elongated backstop physically associated with said second guide means and defining the termination of said stacking chute; and D. means for adjusting the position of said backstop relative to said second guide means such that when the leading edges of sheets deposited in said stacking chute abut said backstop, the trailing edges thereof are accessible adjacent said entrance portion of said stacking chute to the manual grasp of a machine operator.
 2. said lower member is provided with longitudinally extending means coacting with said ribs thereby preventing the leading edges of sheets in said stacking chute from extending beyond said arm.
 2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein:
 2. said second guide means includes spaced upper and lower horizontal members, and
 2. said adjusting means includes a horizontal rod mounting said sleeve for sliding movement thereon pursuant to the longitudinal positioning of said backstop.
 2. a lever arm pivotally mounted at one end and linked at a point intermediate its ends to the other end of said crank,
 2. said lower member is provided with spaced longitudinally extending slots adapted to receive said lower ribs on said arm, and
 3. said upper member is provided with longitudinally extending ribs positioned in close proximity to said upper ribs on said arm,
 3. an actuator arm linked to the other end of said lever arm, and
 3. said backstop includes an elongated arm extending transversely between said first and second horizontal members.
 3. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:
 4. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:
 4. an elongated keyway mounting said actuator arm for reciprocating movement therein pursuant to adjusting the longitudinal position of said backstop.
 4. whereby said lower ribs coact with said longitudinal slots and said upper ribs coact with said longitudinal ribs thereby preventing the leading edges of sheets in said stacking chutes from extending beyond said arm.
 5. The apparatus defined in claim 4, wherein:
 6. The apparatus defined in claim 5, wherein:
 7. The apparatus defined in claim 5, wherein said adjusting means further includes:
 8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein said adjusting means further includes:
 9. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein said first guide means further includes:
 10. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein:
 11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first guide means includes spaced inner and outer vertical members and means for providing access to sheets between said inner and outer vertical members. 